How to make origami football shirts

Written by heather mcdowell| 13/05/2017

Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into shapes representing objects. (origami image by legrodu95 from Fotolia.com)

For centuries, the Japanese art of paper folding known as origami has been used to craft beautiful objects of all shapes and sizes. One of the earliest known origami shapes was the graceful and elegant crane, an animal held in high regard to the Japanese people. Today, there are a multitude of books and articles that show even the most novice of origami artists how to create complex and beautiful pieces of art. With the World Cup fast approaching, you can use these origami football shirts to add a unique touch to your next sports party.

Things you need

15 cm by 15 cm (6 inch by 6 inch) piece of paper

Pen

Colouring utensils

Place your 15 cm by 15 cm (6 inch by 6 inch) paper in front of you face down.

Fold the piece of paper horizontally and place the pen on its side on top of the paper. Run the pen across the fold to make a crease.

Unfold the piece of paper and now fold it vertically. Run the pen across the fold to make a crease.

Unfold the paper and take both sides and fold them toward the centre of the paper vertically. Run the pen across the folds to make creases.

Fold the left flap toward the outside of the paper to the left. Fold the paper to make a triangle that reaches about halfway up the centre of the paper. Run a pen along the fold to create a crease.

Repeat with the right side of the paper only folding the right flap toward the outside of the paper to the right.

Fold the paper almost in half taking the bottom to the top and stopping about 2.5 cm (1 inch) below the top. Run a pen across the fold to make a crease.

Fold down the two little flaps in the middle that were created when you left 2.5 cm (1 inch) from the top. Fold the left flap down toward the left and the right side down toward the right. These should make small triangles.

Flip the entire piece of paper over.

Fold down the top left corner of the paper until it reaches the centre fold on the top of the paper. Repeat with the right corner.

Turn over the paper, and fold the very top of the paper down in the back a little bit to finish the collar.

Decorate your origami football shirt using your colouring utensils.

Tips

Using the side of a pen to go over the folds helps the paper to crease more easily.